Optima flatwounds 4440

[woodyng]

I agree, I don't understand how some folks love that bridge cable feeling. Give me TI JFs any day.

Well,i'ma haveta be Goldilox here,that's too far in the opposite direction for me....
TI's would be great if they were just a tad....more. But that's why the old Maxima's are perfect.

[jps]

I agree, I don't understand how some folks love that bridge cable feeling. Give me TI JFs any day.

Well,i'ma haveta be Goldilox here,that's too far in the opposite direction for me....
TI's would be great if they were just a tad....more. But that's why the old Maxima's are perfect.

Put the TIs on a 34" or longer scale bass. The 5 string set I have on my Elfin 5 fretless is sublime, and just perfect for that bass.

The first time I tried Jazz Flats was on my former AV '62 Jazz Bass, and yes, they did feel a bit floppy to me, but since that time i came to realize they really are just fine, I just had to learn to change my more aggressive (at the time) playing technique, learning from Gary Willis, especially after playing his own bass in the early '00s. He sounded like a monster with it and could do all sorts of things with it while could barely get a clean note from it as the strings were practically laying on the fingerboard. After that I got my first set of Jazz Rounds which make the Jazz Flats feel pretty taut by comparison. Now I can play and do just fine with these super low tension strings. To me, it was worth the effort to lighten up (in my playing, not elsewhere ).

This recording is with the Jazz Rounds on my March '73 4001.

[DavyR]

I agree, I don't understand how some folks love that bridge cable feeling. Give me TI JFs any day.

Well,i'ma haveta be Goldilox here,that's too far in the opposite direction for me....
TI's would be great if they were just a tad....more. But that's why the old Maxima's are perfect.

I agree. Especially the "A" string, of course. Bummer about the new re-issue 4440s...

[Fish Islander]

I actually just got these put on my 4003. Besides the E string being a little dead sounding (which I personally like) these strings are actually very good. I've tried just about all different companies who make flatwounds but the Optima 4440s are definitely going down as my favorite flatwound strings. They just nail that clicky thumpy tone I was going for. I'm sure I can get the Macca tone without a doubt but I'm too busy getting MY tone

[rickenbrother]

I agree, I don't understand how some folks love that bridge cable feeling. Give me TI JFs any day.

Those of us who really dig in when we play, prefer more resistance.

[jps]

Yeah, I get that, I was saying it more in jest.

When I played this guy's bass years ago it truly was difficult to play as the action was at least 3/8" off the end of the fingerboard. Low tension strings would not have made much of a difference with his bass set that way.

[rickenbrother]

When I played this guy's bass years ago it truly was difficult to play as the action was at least 3/8" off the end of the fingerboard.:

I've known some bassists that like their action high. I was recent;y at a wedding where the bassist in the band had two MM StingRays, both with crazy high action. He also had a double bass, which probably explains why he likes action so high.

[jps]

In Percy's case he told me that was what it took to get the tone he wanted, but during our conversation he also told me of all the pain in his hands and wrist; I am sure part of that is just getting older and the aches and pains we get from doing so. He was enamored with the SWR Baby Blue II amp I had, he liked it better than his Workingman's 15 amp.

Here is a photo with both our amps and his bass on a stand behind me.

Copyright © SAW 2004 All rights reserved.

And, another shot of the great Percy Jones.

Copyright © Jeffrey P. Scott 2004 All rights reserved.

We also discussed round wound vs. flat wound strings, too (which brings us back to the original topic ).

[chefothefuture]

Interestingly, A/B-ing the RB4440 with the 4099(new black packaging), I find the 4099s have a little more midrange than the RB4440s.
Both sets still have a little more tension than the original Maximas, so on a vintage Rick, YMMV, but they certainly have become my favorite
currently produced flatwound. The RB4440 just has a little heftier feel than the LaBella LTFWs and a bit more growl as well.

[jps]

How do they compare to TI Jazz Flats?

[chefothefuture]

How do they compare to TI Jazz Flats?

Both the 4099 and the RB4440 sets are not nearly as bright. Both have a "meatier" feel.
The Gs don't sound as "papery" as the TIs do. If your bass is set up for TI's, (if vintage) you'd need to put roughly up to a half turn on the rods
to have the bass where it was with the TI's.
So anything prior to '71 might be iffy. I don't have anything built after that to make a fair judgement call on how they would work.
Having said that, the 4099s sound better on my "Faux Thousands" than they do on an old 4001.

Personally, if the bass can handle them, I prefer the Optimas to the TI's. The caveat is if your bass can handle them. I have a few 4001's with TI's where the rods are maxed out and the bridge is bottomed.

Another caveat is that there has been some inconsistency with the Optima 4099's over the years, though the newest set I have sounds better than some of the older ones.

Hope that helps.

[jps]

Thanks, John.

I do like the brightness of the TIs but as I have not tried the other sets I have no real basis for comparison. I do get a wonderful tone with the TIs on my 4004L and, especially so, on my fretless Martin Keith bass. The low tension of the strings have never been an issue with me as I favor TI Jazz Rounds for my round wound strings and they are considerably lower in tension than the flats so the JFs feel perfect, to me. None of my basses would have a problem with higher tension strings but I have an affinity for these nice, soft feeling strings. Given the reports of duds, something that has never occurred with the TI strings I will probably just stick with what I know, unless someone wants to send a set this way for me to evaluate.

[Isaac]

How do they compare to TI Jazz Flats?

Both the 4099 and the RB4440 sets are not nearly as bright. Both have a "meatier" feel.
The Gs don't sound as "papery" as the TIs do. If your bass is set up for TI's, (if vintage) you'd need to put roughly up to a half turn on the rods
to have the bass where it was with the TI's.
So anything prior to '71 might be iffy. I don't have anything built after that to make a fair judgement call on how they would work.
Having said that, the 4099s sound better on my "Faux Thousands" than they do on an old 4001.

Personally, if the bass can handle them, I prefer the Optimas to the TI's. The caveat is if your bass can handle them. I have a few 4001's with TI's where the rods are maxed out and the bridge is bottomed.

Another caveat is that there has been some inconsistency with the Optima 4099's over the years, though the newest set I have sounds better than some of the older ones.

Hope that helps.

Doesn't help me much. "Meatier"? "Papery"? I have no idea what you might mean by those words. Not as bright, that I understand.

[woodyng]

How do they compare to TI Jazz Flats?

Both the 4099 and the RB4440 sets are not nearly as bright. Both have a "meatier" feel.
The Gs don't sound as "papery" as the TIs do. If your bass is set up for TI's, (if vintage) you'd need to put roughly up to a half turn on the rods
to have the bass where it was with the TI's.
So anything prior to '71 might be iffy. I don't have anything built after that to make a fair judgement call on how they would work.
Having said that, the 4099s sound better on my "Faux Thousands" than they do on an old 4001.

Personally, if the bass can handle them, I prefer the Optimas to the TI's. The caveat is if your bass can handle them. I have a few 4001's with TI's where the rods are maxed out and the bridge is bottomed.

Another caveat is that there has been some inconsistency with the Optima 4099's over the years, though the newest set I have sounds better than some of the older ones.

Hope that helps.

Doesn't help me much. "Meatier"? "Papery"? I have no idea what you might mean by those words. Not as bright, that I understand.

Not quite sure about the "papery" description,either,but the lack of tension on the TI's is what makes them feel "meatless".
I have a light touch,but occasionally like to dig in on the strings,and that always resulted in the string being overstimulated,shall we say......

[jps]

Not quite sure about the "papery" description,either,but the lack of tension on the TI's is what makes them feel "meatless".
I have a light touch,but occasionally like to dig in on the strings,and that always resulted in the string being overstimulated,shall we say......

We certainly don't want to overstimulate our strings, now.

I have been trying to do my best at doing the Gary Willis thing with a very light touch, overall, so I can have a good dynamic range without overstimulating the strings into submission. My first lesson in playing with a light touch was after I saw Tribal Tech (the second time) and I played Gary's bass. He is a monster on the bass and makes it sound great. When I played his bass I could barely get a clean sound from it as the strings were practically laying on the fingerboard with a bit of light showing through between them and the fingerboard. I don't set my action anywhere that low but the concept of using a light touch to get a massive tone hit home that night.